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Papua New Guinea is built for a group tour. Mostly because the country is wildly expensive without one. Every single tribe you visit charges an entrance fee to the village and a fee for a sing-sing or cultural performance. Accommodation, even in a stilted hut in the jungle, costs upwards of $100 per night. Public transport doesn’t exist in the way you or I are used to it, and that means a lot of private car rentals to get around. If this is all sounding like a foreign language to you, then read my blog posts on what it’s actually like to travel in Papua New Guinea (*coming soon*) and then come back here.
But if you’re on a group tour, costs are shared! Lots of things in Papua New Guinea (like the sing-sings) are per performance, not per traveler. This means it pays to go with a group. Costs are much lower. While Trans Nuigini is the luxury operator with the most expensive offerings in Papua ($10,000+ per person) for a 10-day tour, the average of the rest sits somewhere around $6,500 per person.
This is a crazy amount of money. I’m not going to recommend any tour over $4,000 per person. Still, a lot. But I can pretty much promise you won’t find anything more affordable while still offering you the ease of an “all-inclusive” tour.
Note on Tours: I know tours aren’t for everyone. But when traveling in PNG, you need a guide. There’s just really no way to backpack it. To orchestrate a privately guided excursion on your own takes expert-level haggling skills and lots of insider knowledge. This is why group tours are such a good option.
Why You Should Consider a Group Tour in PNG
- It’s one of the most affordable ways to visit Papua New Guinea.
- You’ll get to see more tribes than you would on your own.
- You’ll have the ease of someone else planning your trip.
- You’ll gain access to reputable local guides (occasionally a problem with independent travelers) with cultural info you need to understand the practices you’ll witness.
- PNG is one of the most challenging destinations in the world to travel to, and joining a group makes it far more doable for all travel experience levels.
1. Create Your Own Tribes of Papua New Guinea Private Tour
- Trip Price: Depends on the trip duration.
- Link: https://tribesofpapuanewguinea.com/
- Focus: Whatever you want it to be.
This is not a group tour. Okay, well, depending on how many adventurous friends you have, it could be.
Tribes of Papua New Guinea run a series of group tours throughout the year, but sometimes your work schedule just doesn’t line up with departure dates. Fortunately, you can still create your own adventure. David is more than happy to accommodate guests interested in visiting the Highlands, New Ireland, or the Sepik River and plan a group booking! This offers the biggest discount potential. If you’re a group of 3 or 4 (or more), this is your path to an easy trip with maximum savings.
Note: I make no money from this recommendation. These are not affiliate links. I did travel with David for a stint in Papua New Guinea and stayed at all of his properties throughout the country. He’s been involved in PNG tourism for 10 years now and has lots of experience running tours in the country.
2. Sepik River Expedition
- Trip Price: Price to be determined.
- Trip Length: TBD.
- Link: Soon to be released.
- Focus: Authentic tribal culture, river adventures, mask carvings, crocodile men of Chambri Lake.
The Sepik River is my favorite part of Papua New Guinea. It’s also the only region in the country that you 100% cannot visit without a guided tour. It’s the most rugged, most challenging, and most culturally interesting…in my opinion, of course. I spent 12 days in Sepik (with Tribes of Papua New Guinea) and was fortunate enough to witness the scarification ceremony of the Chambri Tribe.
While the highlands definitely get the award for cultural diversity and the most impressive face-paint, Sepik tribal experiences feel more real and raw. You also get to stay in some of the prettiest villages in PNG and get to know the local communities living off the river here. If I go back to Papua New Guinea one day, I 100% would revisit this part of the country, and I cannot recommend it enough.
3. The Ultimate Papua Discovery: A Journey Through Tribes and the Mt. Hagen Show
- Trip Price: $3,900 per person.
- Trip Length: 9 Days, August
- Link: https://tribesofpapuanewguinea.com/the-ultimate-papua-discovery-a-journey-through-tribes-and-the-mt-hagen-show/
- Focus: Photography, tribal performances, Mt. Hagen festival, and cultural immersion by sleeping in the rural villages rather than cities.
There’s a reason that most visitors to PNG time their stay with one of the two major Highland festivals. It’s the easiest way to see an insane number of tribal performances in a more authentic way than simply showing up to their village and paying them to perform. These festivals are an incredible display of tribal diversity and pride. This tour includes the Mt. Hagen festival, which began in the 1960s. But it doesn’t stop there.
One of the reasons all the tours on this list are from the same operator (Tribes of Papua New Guinea) is that he has built lodges inside the local communities of the tribal people. Specifically, the Asaro Mudmen, Skeleton, and Wii Torai tribes. This means rather than stay in the crowded towns in charmless hotels like most tours, you’ll get to stay in adorable thatched huts right in the heart of tribal land. This means while yes, you will get to see 30+ tribes and performances, you’re also able to gain more insight into how people live and have more authentic experiences with tribe members than simply a photoshoot.
4. The Ultimate Goroka Show Experience – With Asaro Mudmen, Skeleton Tribe & Remote Highland Tribes
- Trip Price: $3,890 per person.
- Trip Length: 9 Days, September
- Link: https://tribesofpapuanewguinea.com/the-ultimate-goroka-show-experience-with-asaro-mudmen-skeleton-tribe-remote-highland-tribes/
- Focus: Photography, tribal performances, Goroka show, and cultural immersion by sleeping in the rural villages rather than cities.
This is essentially the Mt. Hagen itinerary in reverse with a festival swap. The Goroka Show has over 100 different tribes in attendance, and it is the oldest festival in Papua New Guinea. Beginning in 1956, this has always been a riotous display of tribal identity and one of the *main attractions in PNG* for foreign visitors.
If You’re More Interested In Hiking and Nature…
All of the tours above are focused on tribal encounters and cultural attractions. This is the most common reason people visit PNG. Personally, I think unless you are an intense birder, the tribes are really the only reason to make the trip. I love hiking and wildlife. But neither of these things is exceptional in Papua New Guinea thanks to mining (deep-sea and land), palm oil, and other commercial agriculture.
That being said, if you are dead-set on hiking, diving, or wildlife-watching in Papua New Guinea, these are the tour companies I recommend
- Kiunga Nature Tours. PNG-owned. Bird-experts.
- Indigenous Kokoda Adventures. PNG-owned. Kokoda track hiking with the best of the best and a positive impact.
- MV FeBrina. Liveaboard diving throughout PNG’s waters. All locally owned.
- Lissenung Island Resort. (*coming soon*) Diving, but without the liveaboard. A more affordable option, run by experts.
Why I think Tribes of Papua New Guinea is a Great Choice for Travelers
Besides my own personal experience enjoying my trip, of course? David has a lot of PNG experience and has employed the very best guides in the country. He also took the time to build lodging that is integrated into the tribal communities. This means you get to stay within the villages rather than the cities and get to know what daily life is like for the Asaro Mud Men in the modern era, rather than just seeing their cultural performance. The rooms are quite comfortable too.
For now, he’s pretty much the only one doing this.
As the tourism industry expands to include more local operators in Papua New Guinea, that might change. But at this point, if you want to experience PNG in its most immersive form (while on a tour), then Tribes of Papua New Guinea should be the first place you look.
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